Multiple Uses of Texts in Content Area Teachers Classrooms.

This case study of three content area teachers in one middle school and two high schools examined their use of multiple texts in the classroom. The teachers represented three content areas: physics, history, and English. Data were collected via surveys, e-mail exchanges, participant observations, field notes, and semistructured interviews. Data analysis indicated that content area teachers' use of multiple texts could be placed on a continuum indicating degrees of multiple text usage in their classrooms. The continuum was shaped by teachers' beliefs in text use, by student engagement, and by its use as a tool to strengthen cultural capital in the classroom. Each teacher managed to resist or disrupt strong institutional forces, while using texts to produce an environment that valued students' cultural capital in their classrooms. By incorporating multiple texts into their classroom curricula, each teacher broadly defined multiple text usage in the classroom while enhancing students' interest and engagement. Teachers' usage of multiple texts disrupted the idea that one text meets the needs of all students. While teachers incorporated multiple texts into their classrooms, they also demonstrated the necessity of tending to standards and assessments, and they supported the call for multiple texts connecting to information and technology. (Contains 47 references.) (SM)